I toned down the Archers, says retiring editor

The outgoing boss of The Archers has defended the radio serial against claims
that it is trying to compete with grittier television shows such as
EastEnders.

Outgoing Archers Editor Vanessa WhitburnPhoto: John Robertson

By Melanie Hall

6:22AM BST 21 May 2013

Vanessa Whitburn, who is retiring as editor of the BBC Radio 4 soap opera, said that it was, in fact, less melodramatic than in the past.

She denied that the Archers was trying to match other soaps following criticism from listeners that it goes “over the top” with accidents and violent gangs.

“Before my time as editor Grace was burnt to death, Tom Forrest was in court for killing a poacher and there was a diamond smuggler in the village, so we’re possibly less melodramatic than we were then,” Whitburn, who was recruited in 1991 from Channel 4’s Brookside, said in response to reader questions in the Radio Times.

“I don’t think The Archers has to compete with TV soaps. Strong storylines such as Lilian’s affair with Paul should be balanced with gentler stories of community life: the fete and the pantomime, or how they’re going to raise money to repair the church organ.”

The series has had its share of controversies in the 63 years that it has been on the airwaves.

A raunchy shower scene in 2000 led to a complaint from an MP, while Ruth Archer’s affair with herdsman Sam caused 200,000 outraged fans to switch off in 2006.

Whitburn, who is its longest-serving editor, has previously insisted she is not standing down following criticism over the racier storylines.

“Honestly, hand on heart, I was never handed a brief to sex it up, to use that ugly modern phrase,” she has said. “Anyone who claims I was is talking utter nonsense.

“Brookside had been a brief break from my BBC career. Before that I was making radio dramas, and my grandparents came from farming stock. That’s why I wanted the job: that blend of drama and the countryside.”